GAFFER’S CAFÉ•ONX NARANG

SHINING A LIGHT ON...

Age// Lives// Born// School// Training// Early Career// Hobbies// 50-ish London and Lisbon, Portugal Hoshiarpur, Northern India Reynolds High School, Acton, London Spotco Lighting control in music and live events Sailing and surfing, which I hope to do more of in Portugal

Selected Filmography (as gaffer unless otherwise stated) Wicked Little Letters (filming) My Mother’s Wedding (post-production) The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight (post-production) My Policeman (2022) The Banshees Of Inisherin (2022) Silent Night (2021) Bounty Hunters (2019) (TV Series) Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) (lighting console op) The White Room (2015) Winter (2015) Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) (lighting console op) Molly Moon And The Incredible Book Of Hypnotism (2015) (moving light operator: additional photography) Before I Go to Sleep (2014) (desk operator) Decline Of An Empire (2014) (desk operator) Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014) (desk operator) Pantani: The Accidental Death Of A Cyclist (2014) (documentary) World War Z (2013) (console/desk operator/ electrician – uncredited)

Getting started:

It was just a bit of luck really. I was in the right place at the right time with the right skills. I startedoff in live music events as lighting designer, creating programmes for bands for a company, called Spotco, about 30 years ago. They were pioneers of intelligent lighting and digital control. Films were just starting to get into digital control and a group of us were asked to demonstrate the latest techniques in lighting control to film-industry lighting companies.

Early days:

I started doing film projects with great gaffers like David Smith on Guardians Of The Galaxy and Avengers: Age Of Ultron (both DP Ben Davis BSC) as his desk op. I got as far as I could in lighting programming, working on films such as Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (DP Steve Yedlin ASC) – where everything had to be controlled with a lighting desk and tablet. Around 2015, I decided to become a gaffer, letting talented, up-and-coming desk ops have their opportunity to shine.

Happy crew and core team:

My aim is for everybody to have a positive energy on set, creating an atmosphere of well-being and positivity, without taking away from the quality of the work they are there to do. I try to create a harmonious team. If you can create a situation in which everybody feels they can have an input, it brings out the best of the team, makes everybody better at their job and makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

My core team is Alex Jason as best boy – we have been working together for 30 years. He knows me very well and I know he’s more than capable of taking over in my absence. Tomas Euan Maddrell is rigging gaffer and I use desk op Karyn Wilson, who is 24-years-old and quite phenomenal. There are a lot of talented young women coming to into the industry now and there are a lot more opportunities for everyone, which is a good thing.

Diversity in film production:

I think I might have been one of the first Indian lighting designers to get into film lighting in the UK. There hadn’t been anybody from Asia that I’m aware of who had done this kind of lighting control work. Fortunately the people I worked with helped push me forward and gain confidence in what I was doing.

Working with cinematographers:

I’ve done about six films with Ben Davis BSC, who I find really easy to work with. He’s very receptive to other people’s opinions. It’s nice when people who are at the top of their game value your opinion. And, I’ve just finished on My Mother’s Wedding with French/Canadian DP Yves Belanger CSC. He’s a beautifully eccentric DP.

What I’ve discovered as a gaffer is there is no set way of working – you are always constantly learning and that’s what I enjoy. Having done a lot on the more technical side with Ben, Yves was completely different. He was more about using natural daylight, which has become easier over the years with the increased sensitivity of a lot of the cameras now. It allows you to capture light during parts of the day that are just naturally beautiful. My Mother’s Wedding was all about using natural daylight and enhancing it – a really good experience.

Favourite films:

Probably The Banshees Of Inisherin with Ben, which was shot in Ireland. That film was an amazing experience – for one, the awesome, natural beauty of the locations was just incredible. And, of course, there were the challenges of working with the weather there, which can turn on a sixpence. The artists we worked with in the picture were great too, as was working with director Martin McDonagh. Another great film was Guardians Of The Galaxy, because of the degree to which we pushed the technical aspects of controlled lighting environments.

Rising to the challenge:

Every project has its own set of challenges and I love to find solutions to problems we may face, be they physical location challenges or technical

My aim is to have a positive energy on-set… an atmosphere of wellbeing and positivity

challenges. But that’s what keeps you on your toes. It helps you go into work with a fresh head.

The challenge of high-tech lighting:

Being a desk op on films such as Guardians Of The Galaxy and Avengers: Age Of Ultron was a huge challenge – everything has to be worked out very precisely. On Avengers: Age Of Ultron Ben and our gaffer, David Smith, had designed a ceiling rig for Tony Stark’s apartment in a studio at Shepperton, made up of 400 to 500 Panalux bi-colour 2 x 2 LED TechTiles – arranged in banks of eight – all individually controlled by the lighting desk. The whole set had a lot of LED lighting which needed two Portakabins full of dimmers to control. We only had a problem in one or two of them, which I was really proud of. I’d put that down to the amount of pre-planning we did using a pre-visualisation programme called Wysiwyg.

The pressure is always on during these kind of shoots because everything has to work to keep on schedule. What I’ve learnt is to put lighting control infrastructures in correctly, which means that problems are much easier to identify. Obviously mistakes happen because we are all human. I don’t really regard mistakes as mistakes, rather they are lessons we can learn from.

Best kitbag:

A lot of the choice of kit is down to the DPs themselves, and LED is very popular. I tend to get a little LED package, daylight HMIs and a few small Tungsten heads together. What I find now is that LED lighting can be a bit harsh, although they have their place in films. On the plus side, they use less power and they have more options in terms of colour. On the other hand, incandescent bulbs are really beautiful, so I like to use the old lighting tools. Seeing somebody light in the old-fashioned way is quite a privilege. It’s good sometimes not to have a million colours to chose from, because a huge amount of choice doesn’t necessarily produce the best end result.

Cinematographer Yves Belanger CSC says:

“I find that all gaffers are technically good. Onx certainly is – he’s very precise, so I never have to worry about the technical aspect of lighting. We talk

There are a lot of talented young women coming to into the industry now and a lot more opportunities for everyone

more about the mood and the physical aspect of the light, rather than specific lights. I find I don’t need a lot of different suggestions about new lighting technology, but he always give me one or two different options.

Cinematography can be very stressful or very easy and relaxed. Some DPs make it complicated and stressful and get very nervous on-set, but it’s just a job at the end of the day, and all that stress doesn’t translate into better images. But a happy crew does, and what really stands out about Onx is how he makes his crew happy – he’s concerned and involved about their well-being, which is very important. So it’s always fun on-set with him.”

Cinematographer Ben Davis BSC says:

“On a film you work intensively with people for a long period of time, particularly on a film like The Banshees Of Inisherin, where we were all on a small island together. So you have to work with people you like.

I’m extremely fond of Onx, it’s his personality. For me his greatest asset is his attitude. Everyday he has a huge smile on his face – I don’t think I’ve ever seen him grumpy or in a bad mood. Nowadays on sets with intense schedules there’s no room for any malice or grumpiness. One measure of who you are as a gaffer is your crew. A testament to Onx is how much people want to work with him. He treats them extremely well.

Before he was a gaffer Onx was a very good dimmer operator, so he also has a firm grip on the latest developments in lighting, which is important because recent advancements in lighting have been faster than in any other part of film. I don’t need a gaffer who lights so much as one who’s on top of everything. If I say that something needs to be done I have to know that’s going to happen, and in that regard Onx is utterly reliable.”

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